Does it matter which buckets to take SWR from?

[Jerry1]

To be fair though while the new lower tax rates are scheduled to revert back in 2025 to keep the bill that was passed where it could not be fillibustered, the crafters of the bill said that they intend to make them permanent when/if they get the opportunity to do so.

That’s one way to look at it. Myself, the eternal pessimist, believes that in 2025, it will be too easy to just let the rates go back up. Remember, they won’t have to vote for a tax increase, they just have to do nothing. They’ve shown themselves to be good at that.

 

[foxfirev5]

That’s one way to look at it. Myself, the eternal pessimist, believes that in 2025, it will be too easy to just let the rates go back up. Remember, they won’t have to vote for a tax increase, they just have to do nothing. They’ve shown themselves to be good at that.

Exactly. Taking it a step further, if the deficits continue to balloon it would be considered a prudent stance to let the rates revert.

 

[Hermit]

Thanks for all replies. It appears that what I am doing is at least so-so OK. I'm not going to spend hours trying to figure out a tax strategy that may be great or horrid depending on what the future tax laws are. Bottom line for me is that I'm retaining most of my capital in investments and Roth IRA's, and reducing my Trad IRA's before I have to start taking RMD's.

I think that is a reasonable approach. In my case, the traditional IRA is projected to increase even after RMDs for several years. There is a point where the size of the RMD exceeds the projected growth rate, but that is several more years down the road. You will likely be comfortable throughout retirement.
Will you maximize your wealth while in retirement? With so many moving parts, who knows for sure?